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Call for ex-minister and 19 others to be tried over racket

An appeals court prosecutor has proposed the indictment of 20 out of the 21 suspects charged in connection with a money laundering racket centered around former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos.

In a 350-page report submitted to the Council of Appeals Court Judges on Saturday, prosecutor Panagiotis Karagiannis called for Tsochatzopoulos, who has been in custody at Attica’s Korydallos Prison since last April, to face trial on charges of wide-scale money laundering.

Another 20 suspects, including the former minister’s wife, Viki Stamati, his ex-wife Gudrun Moldenhauer, his daughter Areti Tsochatzopoulou and his former business associate Nikos Zigras, should be tried on the same charges, the prosecutor said. Eftychios Atsopardis, the representative of the offshore company Bluebell – one of several linked to the ex-minister – should not be tried, the prosecutor said, noting that there was not enough evidence to implicate him in the racket.